A heroic dog came barking to the rescue of an abandoned cat she found hidden in a pet-carrier in park bushes.

The note found with Lily the cat who was saved by the persistent barking of Maisie the dog then taken to Mayhew Animals Home

Maisie, a two-year-old English Cocker Spaniel, had been on a morning dog walk in Wormwood Scrubs when she discovered the female cat dumped in her carrier with a note left on the top.

Maisie’s persistent barking alerted her owner Pam Armstrong, who took the cat to the Mayhew Animal Home, in Trenmar Gardens, Kensal Green, where she has made a full recovery.

Ms Armstrong said: “Usually Maisie barks when she wants a stick, so I got one for her but she just ignored it and carried on staring at the bushes and would not move - that was when I thought she must have found something.”

On investigation she discovered the carrier hidden away in the foliage with the poor, frightened cat shut inside.

Lily is in the care of The Mayhew

The note attached read: “My name is Lily, I am five years old. I need a home, as I am now homeless. Please take care of me.”

Ms Armstrong added: “I felt shocked and tearful. Being an owner of two cats myself, I couldn’t believe that somebody could do that, and thought that her previous owner must have been in a desperate situation.”

Despite not having access to food or water, Lily appeared to be in good health, albeit very frightened when vets at the animal charity gave her a clean bill of health at the animal home.

They discovered that Lily had been micro-chipped, revealing that she was in fact 11-years-old but unfortunately the chip had the wrong contact details.

Alisa Ford, animal welfare officer at Mayhew, said: “We’re so glad that Maisie found Lily quickly, as it’s worrying to think what would have happened to her otherwise.

“At the Mayhew we help hundreds of people in crisis situations every year, and we wish whoever owned Lily had come to us or another cat shelter instead of abandoning her in the park. We encourage people having problems looking after their pet to get in contact so we can see what we can do to help.”

Lily recovered well and was soon adopted by new owners – but this purr-fect ending would not have been possible without her unlikely canine rescuer.

For more details of the animal home visit themayhew.org or call 020 8962 8000.

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